bathtub race: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
LowInformal, Colloquial
Quick answer
What does “bathtub race” mean?
A humorous competition where participants race in or while pushing actual bathtubs, often as part of a festival or fundraising event.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A humorous competition where participants race in or while pushing actual bathtubs, often as part of a festival or fundraising event.
Any quirky, non-serious competitive event characterized by homemade or improbable vehicles or contraptions, serving as a light-hearted community activity.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Conceptually identical, but the event is more commonly associated with specific, often historic, local festivals in the UK (e.g., Knutsford, Knaresborough). In the US, it may be found as a novelty event at county fairs or university fundraising events.
Connotations
Connotes British eccentricity, village fête culture, and charity fundraising in the UK. In the US, it connotes wacky creativity, college antics, or small-town parades.
Frequency
More frequent and culturally embedded in the UK, where several towns have long-standing annual 'bathtub' or similar novelty races. Very rare in general American discourse.
Grammar
How to Use “bathtub race” in a Sentence
[Town] holds/hosts a bathtub race.to participate in/take part in the bathtub raceto enter the bathtub raceto watch the bathtub raceVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “bathtub race” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- [No standard verb form]
- [No standard verb form]
American English
- [No standard verb form]
- [No standard verb form]
adverb
British English
- [No standard adverb form]
- [No standard adverb form]
American English
- [No standard adverb form]
- [No standard adverb form]
adjective
British English
- [No standard adjective form]
- [No standard adjective form]
American English
- [No standard adjective form]
- [No standard adjective form]
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Not used.
Academic
Not used.
Everyday
Used conversationally to describe a local, humorous event. 'Are you going to the bathtub race this weekend?'
Technical
Not used.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “bathtub race”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “bathtub race”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “bathtub race”
- Using it as a verb (e.g., 'We bathtub raced yesterday').
- Confusing it with a swimming race in a bathtub, which is not the standard meaning.
- Using it to refer to any slow or awkward race metaphorically (not yet conventional).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, but it's not a serious sport. It's a novelty event focused on fun, creativity, and community fundraising, not athletic competition.
It varies. In some races, participants sit or lie in modified bathtubs on wheels. In others, they push or pull the bathtubs along a course, sometimes with a person inside.
Both involve homemade, non-motorized vehicles. A soapbox race typically uses small, gravity-powered cars. A bathtub race specifically uses a bathtub as the core component of the vehicle, often with more comedic and decorative emphasis.
It is not a conventional metaphor. Using it to describe, for example, a slow or chaotic process might be understood as a creative simile but is not a standard idiomatic expression.
A humorous competition where participants race in or while pushing actual bathtubs, often as part of a festival or fundraising event.
Bathtub race is usually informal, colloquial in register.
Bathtub race: in British English it is pronounced /ˈbɑːθtʌb ˌreɪs/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈbæθtʌb ˌreɪs/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “[None directly associated]”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a line of BATHTUBS at the starting line of a RACE, with people in flippers and rubber ducks instead of helmets.
Conceptual Metaphor
COMPETITION IS A THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE / ECCENTRICITY IS ENTERTAINMENT
Practice
Quiz
In which context would you most likely hear about a 'bathtub race'?